Travel-recorder for automobiles and similar vehicles.



G. A. MILLER. TRAVEL RECORDER FOR AUTOMOBILES AND SIMILAR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 26, 1907. 963,055.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

C'harlesAMilZer; amen-tea T151 M0 elf roan 0 .ZW.M-1A- fi F2 PatentedJuly 5, 1910.

0. A. MILLER. TRAVEL RECORDER FOR AUTOMOBILES AND SIMILAR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 26, 190'].

Patented July 5, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

MN/means CHARLES A. LQIILLER, OF HAZLETON, PENNSYLVANIA.

. TRAVEL-RECORDER FOR AUTOMOBILES AND SIMILAR VEHICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

- Patented J uly 5, 1910.

Application filed November 26, 1907. Serial No. 403,943.

To all whom it may concern:

Be'it known that I, CHARLES A. MILLER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Hazleton, in the county of Luzerne and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and/useful"improvements inTravel-Recorders for Automobiles and Similar Vehicles, of which thefollowing is a specification, reference being had to the drawingsaccompanyingrand forming a part of the same.

The subject of my present application for Letters Patent is aninstrument for use with an automobile or other vehicle to indicate andrecord the time during which it is in use, or in general, all movementsof the vehicle to which it may be attached, the

time and duration of such movements, and

ma measure, other indications, such as the character of the road overwhich the vehicle has traveled.

Combined clock and recording mechanisms for indicating the movements ofvarious kinds of vehicles are not broadly new, but heretofore in allsuch cases, so .far as I am aware, the operation of the recordingmechanism is dependent upon and elfeoted by some form of connectionbetween the recording device and the wheels or axles of the vehicle.This plan while entirely feasible and accurate lacks the desirablefeature of security against the skill of dis honest chaufleurs ordrivers, who by disconnecting the recorder from the running gear areenabled to use the car or vehicle without me cording its travel. Theprimary object of my invention is to provide a recorder 'for this(purpose the operation of which is wholly in ependent of any connectionwith the running gear, and effected solely by those oscillations orvibrations of the vehicle itself which inevitably occur during itstravel over all ordinary roads.

In carrying out my invention I employa clock mechanism to ,impart motionto a chart or recording sheet divided conventionally by lines or markscorresponding to di visions of time. With this sheet a stylus ofsuitable character, such as the point of a pencil, remains in constantcontact, and traces thereon a line of even or uniform character so longas the vehicle remains at rest. The support for the stylus is, however,movable with respect to the other parts of the device, as for example,by being pivoted to" or suspended from the case of the which the vehiclehas been in use.

In the practioahembodiment of my invention certain details have beendeveloped that contribute largely to its value and efiiciency. These Iwill now describe by reference to the accompanying drawing.

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of the complete instrument with aportion of the outer casing cut away. Fig. 2 is a front plan view of therecording, as distinguished from the clock mechanism, the View being asection on l1ne a2-a:, Fig. 1, as viewed from the rlght. Fig. 3 1s av1ew ofthe chart or recording sheet and a section of the.

device on line yg of Fig. l, as viewed from the left. Fig. 4 is a detailof the stylus and its support.

- The instrument, as illustrated in these drawings, is inclosed in acasing composed of two parts, A and B. The former is a cylindricalchamber containing the recording mechanism proper and is adapted to besecured to the dashard or other convenient part of the vehicle; Thelatter is a cylindrical casing containing a clock mech anism whichimparts rotary motion to a disk C fitting over a central arbor D andkeyed thereto in any suitable manner. By means of suitable gears d thedisk C 1s caused to make one complete revolution in twenty-four hours. Apin E is set in the face of the disk G at a short distance from itscenter for the purposes hereinafter set. forth.

F is a circular sheet of card-board with radial lines corresponding tohours and fractions thereof, and provided with a central perforation toreceive the central arbor D and a second Iperforation at adefinitecarrying two horizontal arms K and L at its ends through which arms thebar H passes loosely, so that the rack bar is movable freely along thebar H. A right angled lever M is pivoted to the bar H at m and carriesat one end a spring actuated pawl N that engages with the teeth of therack bar J. The other end of the lever M lies in the path of the pin Eso as to be operated by the engagement of the pin, once during eachrevolution of the disk C, to lift the rack bara space of one tooth. Thelever M retracted by a spiral spring 0, and the rack bar is held inposition by a leaf spring P acting as a pawl, so that when it is desiredtolower the rack bar, it is necessary torelease both pawls N and O byhand or by any convenient means.

To the arm K on the opposite side of the cross-bar H to the rack-bar, ispivoted at t a block or plate R, which is provided with a socket forholding a stylus which is preferably a pencil lead T, seated on a spiralspring S. Depending from this holder is a pendulum rod V carrying a bobW. Adjustable stops X are employed to limit the movement of oscillationof the pendulum.

The operation of the instrument is as follows: The clock being wound anda chart having been placed in position the casing which is usuallyhinged to the base portion -A. is closed and locked. This brings thestylusinto contact with the paper the posit1on of the rack bar beingsuch as to bring this point of contact near the center of the chart. Solongas the vehicle is at rest the stylus traces a uniform and fine linearound the rotating chart, but as soon as the vehicle is set in motionand thereby subjected to vibration the pendulum is caused to undergomore or less irregular oscillations with the result that the stylus isvibrated transversely across its normal line of travel, tracing a wideror zig-zag line. At the end of twenty-four hours the rack bar is liftedone step and the line .or point of contact of the stylus with the paperraised to a point 1. The combinatiouwith a casing com eeaoee posed oftwo interlocking parts, a clock mech? anism having a rotary support fora chart or taining the same in engagement with the chart, and apendulous support for the stylus arranged to vibrate in a plane parallelto the record sheet, contained in the otherpart of the casing, thesedevices being arranged so that the stylus will be oscillatedtransversely to the normal line of travel of the chart by the vibrationsof the casing incident to the ordinary running of a vehicle to which itmay be'attached.

2. The combination with a casing composed of two interlocking parts, ofa clock mechanism having-a rotary support for a chart or record sheetwhich is rotated thereby, contained in one part, a stylus adapted tobear on the chart or record sheet,-and a pendulous support for thestylus arranged to vibrate in a plane parallel to the record sheet,contained in the other part of the casing, these devices being arrangedso that the stylus will be oscillated transversely to the normal line oftravel of the record sheet by the vibration of the casing incident tothe ordinary running of a vehicle to which it may be attached; and meansactuated by the clock mechanism to adjust the stylus-support radially ofthe rotary record sheet.

3. The combination, with a casing composed of two interlocking parts, ofa clock mechanism having a rotary support for a chart or record sheetwhich is rotated therei by, contained inone part, a stylus adapted tobear normally on the record sheet, a radially adjustable penduloussupport forthe stylus arran ed to vibrate in a plane parallel to therecor sheet, contained 1n the other part of the casing and rovided witha ratchet-rack, these devices eing arranged so that the stylus will beoscillated transversely to the normal line of travel of the chart by thevibrations of the casing incident to the ordinary running of a vehicleto which it maybe attached; a pawl associated with said stylussup ortand operatively engaging the ratclet-rack, a spring connected with saidpawl for actuating the same-to shift the said Bill) ort radially, andmeans drivenby the 0 oc mechanism for causing the spring to.

actuate the pawl and shift the stylus-support at predeterminedintervals.

CHARLES A. MILLER.

Witnesses:

CHAs. H. CRELLIN, FLORENCE M. LOVATT.

